Thursday, December 25, 2014

Healthcare architecture has assumed great importance

Gone are the days when hospitals were shades of sombre grey and white teeming with patients of all kinds. In recent years, there has been a major transformation in the look and ambiance of the healthcare sector. The situation, today, is that it is hard to differentiate between healthcare infrastructure and hotels except in the services they offer. And because of this trend, healthcare architecture has assumed great importance and this specialized area of architecture has plenty of scope in the evolving Indian market.

The entry of major private players in the healthcare scenario in the last two decades brought about a sea change in the Indian healthcare industry. The change has also permeated to healthcare design and architecture. The philosophy of healthcare architecture speaks of the significance of the emotional and aesthetic aspects of the healthcare environment and believes this as an extremely important aspect of hospital design.

Even healthcare professional, now, agree that exposure of nature for the patients, especially direct sunlight, can promote faster healing and enhances the recovery period of the patient. Architects, who have been saying this too, today advocate Strategically located positive distractions like artwork, use of appropriate materials, interior colors and plants in order to reduce stress levels of not only the patients but also the attendants, hospital staff and doctors as well, thereby enhancing productivity.

Efficient utilization of space is very critical without jeopardizing the functional needs and in view of this, sustainable design takes a whole new dimension when it comes to hospitals.

There is plenty of scope to explore in healthcare sector and the requirement for healthcare architects is huge with the growth in the healthcare industry. To reach a ratio of even one bed per 500 patients, India needs to build 8.7 lakhs more hospital beds. According to latest studies, there will be a requirement of two million beds by 2027.

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